Family Law and Relationships

Cohabitation and Unmarried Couples

a late thirties couple sat in a kitchen together looking at some paper work, it is a lived in kitchen with evidence of amnimals and kids

Family Law and RelationshipsEngland and Wales

Living together but not married: the rights cohabiting couples do not have

Living together can feel every bit as committed as marriage, but the law does not treat the two relationships in the same way. Here is what unmarried couples need to know about their home, finances, children and inheritance.

3 September 2026

A young twenties something couple, making a bed playfuly together, with the sheets being whipped up int he air by one of them with another looking on happily each wearing a different coloured t shirt than the other

Family Law and RelationshipsEngland and Wales

Government proposes new legal protections for cohabiting couples to bridge rights gap

The UK government launches a consultation on overhauling laws for unmarried couples, aiming to clarify property, inheritance, and pension rights amid changing family structures.

3 September 2026